Participants met at the Lyle Torrant Center on Parnall Road and were taken in a Michigan Department of Corrections bus to the starting point at Jackson Central Fire Station on S. Jackson Street.

Sgt. John Gates of the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office lit an authentic Special Olympics torch he got while running with the torch at the 2013 World Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Gates has been participating in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for 10 years, he said.

"It's about bringing the community together and seeing the athletes when we get to the end of the run," he said. "The smiles on their faces, the cheers and the hugs you get from them are priceless. They are so appreciative for what we do for them. They look at us like heroes, but in reality, they're our heroes."

Once the torch was lit, participants were escorted north on Lansing Avenue by local law enforcement, including Michigan State Police, Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Jackson Police Department and Blackman-Leoni Township Public Safety.

Halfway through the route, walkers and runners were joined by around 30 students from the Young Adult Program at the Kit Young Center.

The route concluded back at the Lyle Torrant Center with a round of applause and a pizza lunch.

It was the first year Duncan and her husband Jason Duncan organized the event, they said. Participating in Special Olympics events have become addicting, Lacey Duncan said.

"It really does become addicting," she said. "After a while, you start to meet more athletes and learn their names. It becomes more of fundraising for a particular person in mind. You're doing it for someone you know."

The Special Olympics Michigan Fall Games are Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Ann Arbor, Canton, Chelsea and Ypsilanti.